Former director-general of the Labour Party presidential campaign, Doyin Okupe, has said that his political relationship with Peter Obi, the party’s 2023 candidate, ended after the supreme court’s ruling on the election.
Okupe stated that he had agreement with Obi never to accept any appointment from him, if he eventually win the poll.
Recall that Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, declared Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, winner of the 2023 presidential election.
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Tinubu secured a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 6,984,520 votes, while Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes.
Meanwhile, the former presidential spokesperson, on Sunday, in a statement shared via his X page, slammed Obi’s supporters, popularly known as Obidients, who were criticising him for backing the policies of the present administration.
According to him, those abusing and insulting him for supporting Tinubu’s economic recovery plan are ignorant, stressing that Nigeria’s project is bigger than that of any individual or political party.
He said: “I supported Peter Obi out of a commitment to patriotism and nationalistic fervour, not because I don’t know who I am in national politics or where I come from. I told Peter Obi, and we both agreed, that I would not hold any position in his government if he won. Obi is alive, kindly verify. If it is not true, let Obi publicly say that I am lying.
“Obi and I left the PDP because we both agreed and believed that the next President must be a Southerner, preferably an Igbo man from the South-East. Unfortunately, we lost that election.
“Another Southerner, Bola Tinubu, won the election. This is God’s will. He gives power to whom He wishes. My political commitment and agreement with Obi ended and expired there. I am too experienced in this game of politics for my subsequent political disposition and destiny to be tied to Obi’s ambition. Impossible.
“For me, that cooperation ended with the Supreme Court judgment, right or wrong. There must be order in a society.
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“I was convinced in my heart that if the presidency was going to the South, then it must be an Igbo man from the South-East because I believe in equity and justice. You can also verify this with Papa Adebanjo. He is still alive. I did not support Obi because he was politically superior to me or because he was a friend or an associate.
“My unalloyed support and commitment to Obi was based on principle. Throughout my period as a DG campaign, I used my own car and never received one naira from Obi as a salary.
“It was a mutual friend who funded me personally throughout. This can be verified. In difficult times, I borrowed a substantial amount of money to ensure our zonal campaign in the South-West was a grand success. I was refunded by Peter Obi months later.
“You (Obidients) all hailed, praised, and honoured me because, in your understanding, you believed I was just a foolish politician who left his comfort zone to come and help you fulfil your own agenda. You were all wrong.”
I supported Peter Obi out of commitment to patriotism and nationalistic fervour, not because I don’t know who I am in national politics or where I come from.
I TOLD PETER OBI AND WE BOTH AGREED THAT I WILL NOT HOLD ANY POSITION IN HIS GOVT IF HE WON. PL OBI IS ALIVE, KINDLY…— Doyin (@doyinokupe) September 1, 2024
